Many local communities are looking at ways they can modify land use policies that will actually encourage people to be more physically active.
"According to Dr. Frumkin, we can help people be more physically active by modifying business-as-usual, auto-oriented land use planning. One of the many studies on this topic was published in the March-April 2003 issue of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. The paper concluded that people who live in neighborhoods where stores, schools and homes are within walking or cycling distance from each other make almost twice as many weekly trips on foot as residents of less "walkable" neighborhoods.""California can build in more opportunities for physical activity. The state is growing rapidly, and new subdivisions are popping up all over. Now is the time to stop and think about how these new neighborhoods might be built a little differently to encourage activities such as walking or bicycling. City Manager Gerald Johnson of Lincoln, in Northern California, has done just that..."This article also includes an interview with Dr. Richard Jackson, M.D., California State Public Health Officer about how the state can address physical inactivity and the obesity epidemic.
Thanks to Adam Marcus
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